The finals of the first ever Owen Hart Foundation tournament, on the men’s side, featured Ring of Honor Television Champion Samoa Joe taking on the man who claims he’ll be a franchise player for AEW for years to come, Adam Cole. It went down at tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2022) Double or Nothing pay-per-view (PPV) in Paradise, Nevada.
Joe defeated Johnny Elite and Kyle O’Reilly to reach the final while Cole scored wins over Dax Harwood and Jeff Hardy.
Joe was his usual physical self:
Massive back elbow by @SamoaJoe! Order #AEWDoN NOW on @BleacherReport & Internationally on @FiteTV / https://t.co/30z8K48kUT pic.twitter.com/YvVGPUJaI0
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 30, 2022
While Cole did his best to stay away from it:
.@adamcolepro looking to neutralize the size disadvantage in this matchup! Order #AEWDoN NOW on @BleacherReport & Internationally on @FiteTV / https://t.co/30z8K48kUT pic.twitter.com/9UGv0Z4CJz
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 30, 2022
As the match wore on, they went back-and-forth. Later, Bobby Fish showed up to get involved to assist Cole but he was neutralized fairly quickly. Despite that, Cole took the advantage and scored the pinfall off a knee to the back of the head.
It felt like it came out of nowhere, even with that build, and commentary echoed that sentiment.
Cole will have his name etched on The Owen Cup and be awarded a special championship belt, one that commentary clarified was a prize to be earned as opposed to a title to be defended.
Get complete AEW Double or Nothing results and coverage of the entire card right here.
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